Passing bicyclists

Most drivers pass bicyclists safely and carefully. A few drivers, unfortunately, think they have the right to the lane regardless of who’s already in it. (I encounter these folks most frequently on the Bethlehem section of Delaware Avenue, which is especially odd because there are two travel lanes in each direction to make it easier for cars to pass.)

In other news, sharrows have been installed on a number of Albany streets, including Delaware Avenue past McAlpin. A lot of people are surprised by their placement near the middle of the lane. The edges of the road are often an unsafe place to ride, due to gravel/ broken glass/ gutters. Most Albany streets have the additional hazard parked cars, which are good for traffic calming, but nerve-wracking for bicyclists because of drivers’ propensity to open their doors without checking first for bicyclists, who can be seriously injured if hit by a door. The sharrows are placed to minimize this risk.

Instructions for passing a bicyclist: stay behind him or her until there is room to pass with three or more feet of space. In my experience, it is rare for it to take longer than 30 seconds before an opportunity to pass comes along, and that time would likely be spent waiting at the next red light anyway. Be safe out there!

Sarah Rain

23 Responses

I’d like to know why bicyclists feel they can ignore stop signs, lights and other traffic instruments when they’re riding.

I’d also like to know why bicyclists (and motorcyclists for that matter) feel that they can blow by a line of cars waiting at an intersection on the side of the road. Isn’t this the flip side of what you’re describing above?

In general, I find bicyclists to not have much concern for motorists…it’s a two way street.

Dave: I also find scofflaw bicyclists annoying. It’s hard for me to get as worked up about them as about dangerous drivers, however, because the bicyclists are generally only putting themselves in danger, not other people.

A higher standard of care rightfully should be placed upon the ones who are creating nearly all the risk. Regardless of one’s feelings on the ethics of cyclists running stop signs, police enforcement is more cost-effective per life saved if it targets the most dangerous vehicles on the roads.

(I’m not terribly optimistic, but hope that the sharrows encourage bicyclists to ride on the right side of the road.)

I don’t know. I bike like I run. As long as I don’t get in anybody’s way (causing them to slow down) I like to blow through intersections and avoid all the tradition and ceremony. I have to be super alert because My bike and me at 180 lbs vs the 4,000 lb auto is no contest in the event that there is a communication error – sooner I’m through the intersection, the better. Those I annoy the most are the bikers with me, but it seems counter-intuitive to be “engaging” with cars. Safety first for me even if the laws and drivers don’t understand. Again – my first rule though is to do nothing that is going to interrupt the driver.

BL: I see why the state has a compelling reason to license drivers: they are utilizing heavy machinery that is extremely dangerous to other people. I don’t see the same rationale applying to bicyclists. Should preschool tricyclists be licensed? Cat owners? Pedestrians?

Bicyclists have to share the road with those utlizers of heavy machinery and they have to obey the most of same laws. They also contribute to making the roads dangerous, besides being a potential hazard. Thus, for safety’s sake (not to mention that it aids in the administrative and punitive elements) there should be a demonstration of knowledge and competence. Which, basically, is the main purpose of a license. Registration would also help in the administrative/punitive aspects, besides, along with licensing, helping to defray the costs of creating the bike lanes/sharrows.

BL, most every cyclist owns an automobile or three or uses mass transit. They pay the same gas tax and income tax and sales tax that every municipality uses to fund road projects. Additional licenses would basically be double taxation.

And yes, pedestrians share the road with automobiles and cyclists when there is no sidewalk available.

I always allow plenty of room for cyclists, simply because they have the right to be on the road as much as I. However…

I WISH some of them would obey traffic rules and heed stop signs and red lights. Twice, within two weeks I had the exact same scenario, just different locations. So, at least two must hope they have nine lives.

#1 Turning left onto Rt. 85 from 85A at Stonewell Plaza. I was making the turn and a cyclist – who had a red light – ignored it and shot past me as I swung out making the turn. I barely had a chance to register he was there and could have smacked him. He literally was inches from my vehicle. Then who would be at fault? Me.

#2 Same thing again. Making a left turn from McCarthy (I think that’s what it’s called – it’s the street that Sam’s is on) onto Delaware where the bridge is. Cyclist shot through his red light and I had no place to go but slam on my brakes in the middle of the intersection. I couldn’t have given him enough room, so there I was and the cars behind me are slamming on their brakes.

Both times, the cyclist was hidden from view (until the last minute) by the vehicles already stopped at the light. I know because I always check for drivers that may run a light before I proceed through. Very scary. I am very happy when I see everyone heeding the signs and signals.

I think this issue was addressed by a previous post of yours last year when there were snow bank issues involved, and you were concerned that the motorists were going to make your children “motherless”. I see that months later, you are still having safety issues, and you have rewritten your blog with a different angle. What hasn’t changed is your mode of transportation, and your continued concern, rightfully so, for your safety.

May God watch over you, and give you the wisdom to recognize that maybe you should store your bike for the upcoming winter months, and invest in some bus tokens so that your children will still have their mother!!

It’s great that there are new safety laws, but change is slow, and a law isn’t going to make it go faster. How many people in a day do you see on their cell phones when they drive?

Luckily, Chris, based on statistics, bicycling is not particularly dangerous. Walking is more dangerous per mile, and my 5-mile commute into work is safer than many of my friends’ longer driving commutes. And I’m much less likely than drivers to die of diseases caused by sedentary lifestyles.

A little misleading since basically it’s advocating increased physical activity. Cycling gives you more physical activity than normal leisure physical activity (duh), but cycling over driving per se does not decrease mortality, assuming that the driver compensates (e.g.; plays sports) for the difference in activity.

Thank you Dave..comment # 1…. why don’t bike riders use the bike path by the high school, they are always in the road esp. the big group that parks in the park n ride, and takes off down the ext. and then Delaware Tpke.

Ya gotta bike to understand. I will forever work to keep Delmar from becoming a retirement community – where younger people can’t do what younger people do. I need younger people fighting for younger people things that don’t make so much sense, so that I can be “grandfathered” in… (well, not quite a grandfather yet). My mind changed on much of this when I started to ride just a couple years back. I’m not going to be that guy in a line of cars waiting in an intersection for the light to change.

Hey what about these crosswalks? People, young and old, are now stepping out onto the street without looking. They are crossing while looking down whilst plugged into their ipods, or while texting, or pushing a cart or walker – without looking! But bikers are to follow the rules as cars? Oh come on, grow down will you?

Ken’s attitude is a perfect example of why I think bikers who don’t follow traffic laws are unsafe to themselves and the motorists that inevitably hit them. Most roads here, unlike in Europe, don’t have bicycle lanes and are often narrow for two cars, let alone two cars and a cyclist. Feura Bush Road is a good example.

How many fatal cycling accidents have there been in the Capital District over the pat ten years? My guess is way more per mile than car accidents or even pedestrian/jogging accidents.

Ladies and Gentlemen: Why the animosity? We’re all here-in the same boat. It should be second nature that we consider the well being of our neighbors or fellow travelers (I use the term advisedly). We could call it “simple human decency”.

I drive a car. I need to be careful. If a cyclist ignores the rules of the road and causes an unsafe condition I believe they should be prosecuted appropriately. If they end up on the wrong end of a traffic accident while flagrantly ignoring the law and common courtesy I feel for the poor driver that was jeopardized by their illegal activity.

Cyclists who follow the rules need a look out. They are on a smaller vehicle.

The other guys… We don’t really need.

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